Jessica Andruss | R 2–4:30 PM | New Cabell Hall 315 | Seminar (3)

This course explores the Jewish Bible commentary in its formative period, between the ninth and twelfth centuries. Emphasis is given to the exegetical techniques and cultural significance of the genre, its engagement with the rabbinic tradition, and its parallels with Muslim and Christian hermeneutics. By comparing commentaries on a given biblical passage, we will consider the craft of Jewish commentary writing in varied historical circumstances.

Elizabeth Alexander | W 3:30–6 PM | Gibson Hall 241 | Seminar (3)

This course introduces students to midrashic literature in the original Hebrew. It gives students the interpretive skills to make sense of the texts and provides an overview of the scholarly issues pertinent to the study of midrash.

Asher Biemann | TBA | TBA | Independent Study (3)

Tutorial 2 in sequence of 3. Mendelssohn's book Jerusalem, or on Religious Power (1783), the center of our discussion and a response to Hobbes, Spinoza, and Locke, is both a theory of government & a novel interpretation of Judaism, but also a program of enlightenment and modernization that has to be seen in the context of Jewish emancipation in the 18th century. The course introduces texts by Kant, Lessing, Herder, Friedlander, & Schleiermacher.

Elizabeth Alexander | TBA | TBA | Independent Study (3)

Students learn to analyze and interpret ancient rabbinic texts (c. 200-600 CE) in order to discern theological commitments and ethical instructions. The task is complicated by the fact that rabbinic texts are neither theological treatises nor ethical manuals. They are composed as biblical commentary and as codes, commentary and argumentation on legal topics.